Abstract

In companies that are confronted with turbulence and rapid change, there is a long-term challenge: the routines, structures, and assumptions that have made them successful often end up stifling their development and even their demise. This article looks at how the human resource (HR) function can be a facilitator for the intentional unlearning of legacy practices – obsolete policies, mental models, routines, and institutionalised behaviours that remain in the organization despite their threat to its relevance or usefulness. A conceptual and integrative literature review methodology was adopted, and the organizational learning theory, change management scholarship and strategic human resource management literature was synthesized to provide an integrated framework for understanding the role of HR practitioners as internal change agents to catalyse organizational unlearning as a prerequisite to genuine renewal and transformation. The article draws on the theoretical concepts of Organizational Unlearning Theory, Ulrich's Human Resource Business Partner Model and Institutional Theory to highlight the cognitive, structural and normative aspects of persistence of legacy practice and the role of the HR agency in facilitating unlearning. The reviewed literature shows that unlearning is not just the voluntary disappearance of old knowledge, but it is an active process of change, which is sometimes uncomfortable and politically charged, and therefore must be taken over deliberately, safely and institutionally. As an interface between the organization and the outside world, the HR function can be used to discover legacy practices, diagnose the causes of their persistence, and develop interventions such as targeted communication, incentive realignment, structured reflection, and leadership development that will help individuals and collectives let go of irrelevant practices in exchange for relevant practices. The implications for HR practitioners, organizational leaders and scholars from the theoretical, practical and policy perspectives are explored in the end, and recommendations are made for the adoption of unlearning facilitation as a strategic competency for HR.